HAMILTON, N.Y. – Lafayette jumped out to a 21-10 halftime lead and held on for a quality, 21-16 road victory over Colgate on Saturday afternoon at Andy Kerr Stadium.
 
The Leopards' running game helped control the pace of the contest. Senior TB Jaden Sutton ran 22 times for 83 yards and a touchdown and picked up three crucial first downs on the last offensive drive of the game to close it out. Freshman Jamar Curtis finished with 14 carries for 77 yards. Sophomore Ah-Shaun Davis was efficient under center, completing 13-of-20 for 140 yards and a touchdown on a balmy day in Hamilton.
 
Defensively, seniors Jyaire Stevens (8) and Marco Olivas (7) combined for 15 tackles and a sack while junior Preston Forney added a pair of tackles for loss. The Leopards limited the Raiders' read-option rushing attack to 124 yards on the ground compared to their average of 169.8 yards per game. The Leopards held Colgate QB Michael Brescia in check, limiting him to 45 yards rushing and 125 yards passing.
 
The Leopards kicked off to start the game and on the first play from scrimmage Olivas filled the gap, forcing a fumble that Billy Shaeffer recovered. Shaeffer was back from injury, playing for the first time since week one, and finished with three tackles.
 
The Lafayette offense took advantage of the turnover. The Leopards lined up twice in the wildcat with starting QB Ah-Shaun Davis moving out from under center and Sutton taking the direct snap. Sutton picked up a first down on 2^nd-and-5 at the Colgate 35. Curtis ripped off a 24-yard run on the next play, putting Lafayette to the Colgate five. Two plays later, Sutton took the snap again and found the end zone for the 7-0 lead just 2:45 into the game.
 
On the next offensive possession, the offense took a gamble and it gave the Leopards' a scoring opportunity. Lafayette faced a 4^th-and-1 just inside the Colgate half and Sutton picked up the necessary yardage to keep the drive alive. Davis found Carl Smith for 28 yards to give Lafayette a 1^st-and-goal at the eight-yard line. Lafayette had to settle for a 25-yard field goal attempt by Jakob Trestik that was blocked up the middle.
 
Special teams affected the offense again just before the end of the first quarter. Trestik was punting from his end zone and Colgate defender broke through the middle and blocked the punt. Trestik rushed to the ball and kicked it out of bounds to save the touchdown. The resulting penalty placed Colgate at the seven-yard line and gave the defense a chance.
 
On the first play of the second quarter, Brescia took to steps toward the line in an apparent run, but then stopped and lofted the ball to Matt Paske for the six-yard touchdown to knot the game at 7-7.
 
The Leopard offense seized the momentum following the Colgate score. Curtis had a 15-yard run and Davis immediately followed that with a 37-yard strike to a leaping Chris Carasia at the Colgate 23. Offensive coordinator T.J. DiMuzio went to the reverse with Curtis tossing to Elijah Steward who took it around the end and over the pilon for his first rushing touchdown of the season.
 
Special teams came into play again near the 10-minute mark of the second quarter. Lafayette forced a punt, which Curtis mishandled and Colgate's offense took over at the six-yard line. The Leopards' defense came up with a crucial stop, with Forney catching the ballcarrier from behind on third down. Colgate settled for a field goal that cut Lafayette's lead to 14-10 with 9:12 left in the half.
 
The defense came through with another turnover. Forney forced a fumble on a swing pass that Saiku White recovered. Lafayette kept the momentum, putting together a 50-yard drive over six plays. Davis capped the scoring march with a 10-yard strike to Smith. Trestik added the PAT and Lafayette led 21-10 at halftime.  
 
Near the end of the third quarter, Colgate made it a one-score game as Brescia hit Garrett Oakey for a 38-yard touchdown catch. The Raiders went for the two-point conversion, but threw an incomplete pass as Lafayette held the 21-16 lead with 3:05 left.
 
On the ensuing kickoff the Leopards weathered a potential game-shifting play as Colgate's Brody Hock was whistled for targeting after he drilled Curtis with a helmet-to-helmet hit that dislodged the ball. The targeting penalty was upheld after the review and Lafayette retained the ball. Lafayette led 21-16 at the end of the third quarter as Davis' pooch punt rolled to the Colgate one-yard line where it was downed.
 
With six minutes left in the game, the Leopard defense came through with a crucial stop when Olivas and Stevens ganged up on Brescia for the sack near midfield. On third down, they teamed up again to slow Brescia on a short gain and force a punt with 5:30 left in the game.
 
The Leopards got the ball back at the 20-yard line after the punt was ruled a touchback. Leopard head coach John Troxell and DiMuzio pounded the ball with Sutton picking up a pair of first downs on the ground, forcing Colgate to start using its timeouts. Lafayette faced a 3^rd-and-4 near midfield coming out of the final timeout. The ball stayed on the ground and Sutton and the offensive line pounded forward for 10 yards and the first down to end the game.
 
Lafayette remains on the road and in New York state, venturing to the Bronx to face nationally-ranked Fordham on Saturday at 1 p.m.